---
title: Cost per Occupied Room (CPOR): Formula and Uses
description: Cost per occupied room (CPOR) explained: the formula, what to include, a worked example, GOPPAR beside RevPAR, and where small hotels usually save money.
url: https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/cost-per-occupied-room/
updated: 2026-11-03
---

Guide · 8 min read

# Cost per occupied room: what it is and how to cut it.

What cost per occupied room means, what to include, a worked example, how it relates to GOPPAR and where small hotels usually save.
By the Tivuzo team · Updated 3 November 2026

**Short answer:**
Cost per occupied room (CPOR) = total rooms department costs for a period ÷ rooms sold in that period. Rooms department costs usually include housekeeping and front office wages, guest amenities, cleaning supplies, linen and laundry, and often a share of utilities. CPOR tells you what it costs to service each night you sell; read it beside ADR and RevPAR to see what a room night really earns.

## What to include

| Cost | Include? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Housekeeping wages | Yes | Attendants, supervisors, laundry staff. |
| Front office wages | Yes | Reception and night audit. |
| Guest amenities | Yes | Soap, shampoo, tea and coffee, water, toilet paper. |
| Cleaning chemicals | Yes | From housekeeping stores issues. |
| Linen and laundry | Yes | Outsourced laundry or in-house running costs, and linen replacement. |
| Commissions | Often | Agent and OTA commissions on room revenue: keep separate or include, but be consistent. |
| Utilities | Sometimes | Water, power and gas allocated to rooms; many hotels keep them undistributed. |
| Breakfast in B&B rates | No | That is food cost, not rooms cost. |

## Worked example

| Cost for the month | KSh |
|---|---|
| Housekeeping and laundry wages | 420,000 |
| Front office wages | 310,000 |
| Amenities and cleaning supplies | 138,000 |
| Laundry and linen | 96,000 |
| Commissions | 186,000 |
| Rooms department costs | 1,150,000 |
| Rooms sold | 920 |
| CPOR | KSh 1,250 |

With an ADR of KSh 8,500, each sold room night leaves about KSh 7,250 after rooms department costs, before overheads, food and beverage and fixed charges.

## GOPPAR: profit per available room

RevPAR tells you room revenue per room you have; it says nothing about cost. **GOPPAR** = gross operating profit ÷ rooms available. Two hotels with the same RevPAR can have very different GOPPAR if one spends far more to service its rooms or runs a loss-making restaurant. See [occupancy, ADR and RevPAR](https://www.tivuzo.com/guides/occupancy-adr-revpar/).

## Where small hotels usually save

- **Amenities par**Set a par per room and issue to it; count monthly. Over-stocking rooms is a quiet cost.
- **Laundry**Compare in-house and outsourced cost per kilo; offer a towel-reuse choice.
- **Rostering**Match housekeeping hours to forecast departures and stay-overs, not a fixed roster.
- **Commissions**Know the cost of each channel; a direct booking at a small discount can still be cheaper.
- **Energy**Key-card or occupancy controls, solar water heating, and switching off empty floors.

## What you need to measure it

- Rooms sold per night from the PMS
- Housekeeping and front office costs in their own accounts or departments
- Amenities and cleaning supplies issued from stores, not just purchased
- Laundry and commission costs recorded each month

## In Tivuzo

The night audit records rooms sold; housekeeping stores issues and purchases post costs; analytic accounts keep the rooms department apart; so CPOR and gross operating profit come from the same database as RevPAR. See [hotel back office software](https://www.tivuzo.com/hotel-back-office-software/) and [hotel accounting](https://www.tivuzo.com/hotel-accounting-software/).

## CPOR questions

### What is a good cost per occupied room?

It depends on the property type, wages and standards. Track your own CPOR monthly and compare with the same month last year and with ADR.

### Is CPOR calculated on rooms sold or occupied?

On rooms sold (occupied paying rooms). If complimentary rooms are serviced, decide whether to include them and keep the rule.

### Should utilities be in CPOR?

Many hotels keep utilities as an undistributed cost; some allocate a share to rooms. Either is fine if you stay consistent.

### What is the difference between CPOR and GOPPAR?

CPOR is a cost per sold room in the rooms department; GOPPAR is the whole property's gross operating profit per available room.